Temporary Bomb Detection Stations To Be Built In Two Terminals

For passengers at DFW Airport (TX), the word of the day is "shlep." By the end of this month, passengers will have to carry, drag, hustle -- shlep -- their checked luggage through temporary bomb detection stations in terminals B and E. The TSA has ordered the Texas airport to begin testing all luggage for explosives by May 31st.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports the temporary bomb detection stations will be erected near the ticket counters in those two terminals. The other two DFW terminals -- A and C, used by American Airlines -- already have bomb detection systems built in.

Airport executives warn the switch to all-electronic screening in terminals B and E will cause headaches for both passengers and airline staff. The machines only move so fast, they say, and the narrow concourses, already pretty cramped, will be even moreso.

If passenger traffic in the other two terminals is any indication, it's going to be a long, hot summer at DFW. Already, American passengers have to pick 'em up and put 'em down at one checkpoint after another. The lines are not only annoying, but airport officials say they could be a security hazard.

DFW handles 55,000 pieces of luggage a day. The airport is building a new "in-line" bomb detection system in its underground handling facility, but that won't be complete until at least next winter.

FMI: www.dfwairport.com